As driving safety technology has become more sophisticated and commonplace in recent years, one particular type that stands out are features designed to keep drivers safely in lane.
Lane departure warning is one of the names of such technology, and this guide we explore what this and similarly named features do exactly and how they benefit drivers.
How much a car may intervene when it drifts out of lane, whether that be due to lack of concentration or another reason, depends on the level of technology onboard. It varies from model to model and depends on whether the driver has any optional advanced driver safety packs installed.
As well as lane departure warning, there are more advanced versions of this feature known as lane keep assist or lane centering assist.
What does lane departure warning do?
The eldest and most common form of safety technology related to cars leaving lanes incorrectly, lane departure warning is, as the name indicates, a warning system only.
When in a car with lane departure warning, if you let the vehicle drift near, onto or over a lane marking, the system will alert you. The safety feature uses cameras to see where the white lane markings are and will give an audio warning (and likely a visual warning on the dashboard too) when necessary. The audio warning will come via a series of loud beeps.
Other ways a lane departure warning system may alert the driver can include vibrating the steering wheel or seat cushions in a way that feels different to if you were driving on an off-road surface, like gravel for example.
This system does have certain limitations, as it won’t work on a road with no lane markings and the cameras used may have trouble detecting the markings if they are faded, or if it’s raining or snowing.
Lane departure warning tends to become active when you reach a speed of between 30 and 40mph and will be dormant when you are below such speeds.
Bear in mind as well that lane departure warning is not active while you have indicators on, so it shouldn’t pester you if you leave a lane on purpose.
What is lane assist?
Lane keep assist, also known as simply lane assist, is like lane departure warning except the car can steer itself away from a lane marking if you let the car get too close to one.
When the system’s onboard cameras detect that the car is about to leave the lane, it will intervene in the steering of the car, forcing it away from the lane that it’s about to cross. The system only does so much though, and it is up to the drive to recenter the car in the lane.
Different manufacturers have their own different names for this safety feature. Examples include lane departure prevention, lane change assist and lane departure alert with steering assist.
A more advanced form of this assist, known as lane centering assist, is a more modern technology which not only stops a car from crossing lanes, but can also constantly work to keep the car centred in its current lane.
Cars with lane assist
Nowadays, virtually every manufacturer which sells new cars in Britain will offer some level of lane keeping assist. Even with more accessible, budget city car options, it’s likely that at the very least lane departure warning will be offered as an option or as standard on higher trim levels.
Premium manufacturers meanwhile are likely to have a more advanced lane keep assist or lane centering assist onboard.
If your car has lane centering assist and adaptive cruise control onboard, then you have what can be considered the basics of semi-autonomous driving available to use. It won’t get you from A to B with zero effort, but if you keep your hands on the wheel and there aren’t any sharp turns ahead, this combination of safety systems can prove very useful indeed. It can make a big difference should you get momentarily distracted while travelling down a particular lane.
How to turn off lane departure warning
Some cars will allow you to adjust the lane departure warning system via its onboard settings menu. For instance, there may be an option to adjust the loudness of the audio warning when you drift too close to a lane, or you may even be able to just how soon or late the warning activates when you get close to or on a lane.
From the same relevant settings menu or via a particular button on or near the centre console, it should also be possible to turn off lane departure warning if you prefer.
If it’s switched off via a button, it will likely be symbolised by a car exiting a solid white lane and there will likely be a small light just above it confirming whether it’s on or off.